With each day dealing another blow to US President Donald Trump’s efforts to scrap the election results, many Republicans are skeptical of the announced outcome and do not recognize Joe Biden as President-elect.
Some, like Jonathan Serrano, an entrepreneur from Chicago, Illinois, believe Trump should wait to admit defeat until all states have officially confirmed their election results, breaking the tradition of the president’s concessions begun in 1896.
“He should admit when the election results are official. Biden is the “alleged” president-elect, not the president-elect. With the media declaring him the winner, which he may be, people believe he is the official winner, “said Serrano.
Jonathan Serrano from Chicago, Illinois [Courtesy of Jonathan Serrano]
“A fair, lawful and orderly electoral process”
California College Republicans director of communications, Dylan Martin, said Trump had the right to question the outcome in court and that the media did not have the power to decide who the president-elect was.
In modern U.S. political history, all previous presidential candidates have looked to the U.S. media for guidance on whether they won or lost the election, including Trump in 2016, who declared victory shortly after American news outlets predicted him as the election winner on Night.
“We fully support President Trump’s legal challenges. Al Gore had more than 30 days to battle the 2000 outcomes, and Democrats and media should be equally courtesy to President Trump. Whether his suits change the election result is not the main problem, ”said Martin.
In 2000, the dispute depended on votes in one state – Florida, which Democrat Gore lost to Republican George W. Bush by 537 votes after the US Supreme Court halted the counting of votes. Florida’s 25 electoral college votes gave Bush the presidency. Trump would have to overturn results in at least three states to give Trump 38 Electoral College votes and undo Biden’s victory.
“The Trump campaign has produced hundreds of affidavits alleging fraud and inappropriateness. The fact that evidence has been exposed, not to hide, and even to claim that there is no evidence is gross press misconduct, ”Martin said.
Despite the aggressive pursuit of evidence by Trump’s legal team, no evidence of widespread fraud has emerged.
As of November 23, at least 25 of the Trump campaign’s 36 lawsuits had failed.
“President Trump deserves a fair, lawful, and orderly electoral process that we are not seeing,” said Stefanie Mingari, a member of the Northwest Side GOP Club in Chicago, Illinois.
“As the days go by, we’ll see [voter] Fraud and injustice, ”she said.
“This election is an embarrassment and the integrity of the US is at stake.”
Stefanie Mingari from Chicago, Illinois [Courtesy of Stefanie Mingari]Mingari believes the best way forward is to make sure that every legal ballot, with the exception of “late” ballots, is counted.
These so-called “late” ballots, which were received after election day, are legal in the eyes of various regional courts according to the electoral rules of each state.
In a statement on behalf of her organization, Betsy Mahan, leader of the Sacramento County Republican Party in California, said that the alleged and unproven widespread electoral fraud that has occurred cannot be overlooked.
“There are too many voting irregularities to ignore. We support legal efforts to determine if there was any fraudulent activity in this election and will accept the result after the courts or Congress have finalized the winner. “
Gabe Hartwig, president of the Atlanta Young Republicans, recognizes Biden as “the likely winner of Electoral College”. He also believes Trump’s behavior was no different from that of the Democrats in the 2016 and 2018 elections.
“Donald Trump follows the game book of our future Governor of Georgia, Stacey Abrams, who has not yet admitted her 2018 election campaign through Governor Brian Kemp. It’s nice to see Democrats getting a taste of their own medicine. “
However, Democrat Abrams never publicly admitted that Trump’s 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton made a concession speech the day after the election, calling for unity.
Hartwig said Trump had “acquired the right to produce evidence of election fraud that his legal team found in court.” In the absence of credible evidence, he believes the results of the electoral college should be confirmed.
Another perspective
Jack Patton, a New York City resident and chairman of the University of Southern California’s GOP, recognizes Biden as president-elect and hopes both political parties can work together again.
“[Trump] can claim what he will, but until proven, which it probably won’t, then Joe Biden is the election winner and living in a constitutional republic means accepting the election winners. It just works like that. This is how elections work regardless of whether your candidate wins or loses. You have to accept the election results. “
With Trump “now no more options than Michigan, Pennsylvania, [and] Georgia confirmed all of their votes, ”Patton believes Trump should finally admit.
“I think it is the right step for the sanctity of the land, the common sense of the collective citizenship and also for the preservation of the peaceful transfer of power, which we have successfully carried out for almost 250 years.”
looking ahead
While the president’s official transition process is officially underway, Trump’s supporters also disagree on what to expect after Biden was sworn in on Jan. 20.
Serrano hopes for a peaceful change of power or, if his wishes come true, for a “peaceful acceptance” of another Trump term.
For Patton, Biden is the next president and he stated that he “would like to see more of both parties on the aisle”.
Hartwig sees a silver lining in the 2020 election results.
Aside from the presidential election, the November 3rd elections were great for the Republicans. We have expanded our coalition between black and Hispanic voters, regained multiple seats in the House of Representatives, recaptured legislative bodies and likely retained the Senate. “
This depends on the results of two Senate runoff races due to take place in Georgia on January 5th. If Republicans win any of these, they’ll keep their Senate majority.
Meanwhile, Mingari remains optimistic that Trump will find a way back to victory.
“I hope [that] President Trump will be re-elected and anyone involved who tries to destroy our electoral process through electoral fraud and fraud will be held accountable. “
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